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In our never-ending (and kind of horrific) passion for watching movies based on real-life events, horror is always on top. It’s weird, but scary movies are much more effective if they’re based on something that hit a real person. Filmmakers tend to jump the shark and lose credibility by straying away from realism, however, people give these movies more credibility in the scale of “how scary they can get.”
Almost 50 years later The Exorcist , the public is still trying to come up with an excuse that is “based on a true story”. The movie was actually based on William Peter Blatty’s novel that was loosely based on a true 1940s possession story that changed the life of Robbie Mannheim, the actual victim. But then again, based on a true story? Improbable.
However, William Friedkin, the film’s director, made his argument for this discussion in the form of a 2017 documentary The Devil and Father Amorworth. Friedkin’s movie is very divisive. Some call it tabloid rubbish, some say it belongs to an excellent story of the Mondo Cannes series, and some are still amazed by the movie. We don’t know where it stands, but we’d rather see it as Friedkin’s homage to a very strange man: Father Gabriel Orth, the Italian priest who founded the International Association of Exorcists and was the Catholic Church’s go-to state of the art modern property.
Father Amworth was a true gentleman, a no-brainer. Countless documents and books prove his position in the modern church. He was a prankster who was always trying to make people laugh, and always had a joke up his sleeve. It was adjacent to the Vatican, but it constantly opened its mouth regarding some shady aspects of the world’s largest religious organization. Needless to say, they didn’t like the guy.
This is a very important aspect revealed in the movie Exorcist Pope, the 2023 horror film directed by Julius Avery from a screenplay by Michael Petroni and Evan Spiliotopoulos. However, the movie isn’t so much about him as it is about a very unfortunate family who moves into the wrong house and days later, one of the members starts showing signs of being possessive. Of course, Avery and company, and the studio behind the movie, will use the most efficient title card you can use for horror. But he Exorcist Pope A real case Father Amorworth dealt with, or are they lying to us? lets take alook.
Who was Father Gabriel Orth, and why was he important?
According to the movie, Amrth was the chief exorcist in the Vatican. We’re not sure if that title actually existed, but his career as an exorcist for the Archdiocese of Rome speaks for itself. People claim that he has performed more than 150,000 exorcisms in his entire life of 91 years. Of course, he wrote a few books about his role as a figurehead for the church in the case of demonic possessions: An exorcist tells his story And The Exorcist: More Stories. Those were the books that inspired the writers of the movie.
Saying that the cases documented in those books are true depends on where you stand in the “possessions are a symptom of mental health conditions” conversation. Yes, they are very annoying, but they are also ideal opportunities for speculation. As might be expected, detractors claim that Father Amworth was a liar who used his position in the Church to educate audiences around the world into thinking that “perversions” could make you prone to possessiveness.
However, Amorth also represented opposition to conservative views. He was very forthright when he claimed that the Catholic Church has a few devils in the treasury that they would rather hide in order to avoid tainting themselves with crimes that could cause them to stumble. Exorcist Pope It doesn’t get too deep into this because it’s another kind of movie. This is a full blown horror movie that features Amworth giving the religious authorities the middle finger in another way.
Is The Pope’s Exorcist Based On A True Story?
It is possible that some of the events shown in the movie may have happened in real life. But it is difficult to link the case itself to a specific possession documented in popular culture. Having this caliber and influence would have been huge in the modern era, considering that newsprint was popular around the world in the 1980s, the decade that is depicted in the movie.
Anyway, you can fully trust the movie poster when it says the movie is “inspired by the actual files of Father Gabriel Amorworth,” and you’re getting your horror based on true events. Or you can enjoy the movie for what it is. It’s decent enough to make for a Friday night watch, where horror follows the rules of the subgenre and there’s room for the one-liners.
Russell Crowe He plays Father Amorth, and he does a pretty good job of portraying a priest who can tell a joke during the most serious of matters. It imprints credibility with a performance that doesn’t feel like a carbon copy of what you’ve seen in previous Exorcism movies. And if you actually wander to see The Devil and Father Amorworth, you’ll see that Crowe does a fine job of recreating the best and worst of Amorth, the man whose biggest secret lies in a question that will probably never be answered. Not even through your favorite horror movie.
you can stream Exorcist Pope On many video-on-demand services.
